Featured letter: Legislative inquiry should be bipartisan, transparent

The New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation is ironically perpetuating the very malfeasances that necessitated its formation.

My Senate colleagues and I unanimously voted to establish this committee to seek facts surrounding George Washington Bridge lane alterations. But legislative Democrats who publicly vowed to conduct themselves in a transparent and bipartisan fashion are now taking this committee down a purely partisan path marred by secrecy.

On Monday, Democratic committee members passed a resolution to give a select few legislators absolute control over subpoena power, all committee actions and any documents. There is no limit to what this committee can "investigate" and how much taxpayer money it can spend over the next two years.

Remarkably, even the committee members - eight Democrats and four Republicans - won't have a vote on how this committee uses state resources.

This panel is being controlled by two co-chairpersons who have waged political wars against Gov. Chris Christie: Sen. Loretta Weinberg, who ran for lieutenant governor against Gov. Christie's ticket, and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, former head of the State Democratic Committee.

It would be na´ve to believe these chairpersons will run a nonpartisan, transparent legislative inquiry.

The way this taxpayer-funded committee operates must change immediately. There should be a vote on all committee actions, including any decisions on hiring, spending, or inquiry. Documents and information should be available instantly to all committee members and then publicly released in a responsible and timely fashion.

I support a legislative inquiry, but it needs to be done for the people.

Sen. Robert Singer

R-Monmouth, Ocean

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Featured letter: Legislative inquiry should be bipartisan, transparent

The New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation is ironically perpetuating the very malfeasances that necessitated its formation.

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